Hamilton County Commission held first evening meeting Wednesday

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Wednesday was the first evening Hamilton County Commission meeting in recent memory.

The body has traditionally met at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, but voted for a trial period of November and December to start meetings at 4 p.m.

Commissioner Jeff Eversole spearheaded that effort to make meeting times more accessible for those who work during the day.

This is coming at a cost of about 50-thousand dollars of overtime for courthouse staff.

Some residents say that meeting time should be later.

Resident Therse Tuley said, “You need a more varied and representative group of informed citizens here. You need a meeting time that allows the people who work standard business hours to attend county commission meetings, so that more citizens can be a part of our citizens’ governance.”

The Commission will decide if this new time will be permanent in January.